Undercover Scout

Chapter Three

Tuesday morning at the temporary clinic was crazy, made more so by the fact that Dr. Day did not appear at his usual time. Kee covered the women’s health clinic, now in the adjoining trailer, and Hauser took the urgent care center. Kee called Day several times but got no answer.

Hauser popped into Kee’s exam area.

“Anything?” he asked.

“No answer on his phone.”

“FEMA sent us a dud.”

Kee didn’t think Hauser was giving Day a chance. He almost seemed to be undercutting his efforts. Kee didn’t understand it because he’d never seen Hauser act like this.

Hauser waved a dismissive hand. “Social skills of a tortoise and just as much personality.”

Kee was now officially really worried. He knew Day had set out with his Subaru at seven, his mountain bike strapped onto the vehicle’s bike rack, and that he was always back by just after eight thirty, which was why he was usually late for their 9 a.m. opening. Still, he was never this late. Something felt off but he told himself to be patient.

Kee glanced at his watch. Day had been missing for hours.

When they reached noon and Kee still had no word, he called his brother Jake Redhorse.

“When did you see him last?” asked Jake.

“This morning. He was going for a ride before work.”

“On a horse?” asked Jake.

“He rides his bike. Mountain biking.”

“Okay, yup. I’ve seen him. Looks like a giant canary escaping a coal mine?”

Kee thought of the bright yellow exercise gear Dr. Day wore when biking and smiled.

“Yeah, that’s him.”

“I’ll put the word out, but I’m down at the worksite on the river. I’ll call FEMA. Meanwhile, you got a neighbor who could see if his car is there? Maybe check the house?”

Kee thought of Ava Hood. She lived just down the street.

“Yeah. I have someone.”

Kee gave Jake the details on Day’s vehicle.

“Let me know if the neighbor finds him.”

“Will do.”

Kee disconnected and held the phone to his chest a moment. He was going to call Ava. He hoped that she was at her sister’s trailer, right down the road from his. He had already put Ava’s number in his contacts. He blew out a breath and made the call.

He explained the situation. “Could you check if his car is in the drive?”

“Hold on. I’m walking out the door now.”

He heard a door open and close.

“He ever do this before?” she asked.

“He bikes every morning. And he’s late every morning. But not like this.”

“Does he have someone here, somewhere he might be?”

“He might have a girlfriend down on the flats somewhere and a brother in some kind of law enforcement. DEA or ICE? I can’t remember. Alphabet soup, you know? But I saw him this morning and it’s a work day.”

“Almost there,” said Ava. “Yeah. Okay. No Subaru. No other vehicle. You want me to look inside?”

“Door is locked.”

“I’m looking in the front door window now. Big hook on the wall in the entrance.”

“For his bike,” said Kee.

“It’s empty. I’m knocking.” He heard the pounding knock and the silence that followed. “No one here, Kee.”

Kee pressed his free hand to his forehead. “So he’s still out there.”

“Call Chief Tinnin. Report him missing. Do you know the route he takes?”

Kee squeezed his eyes shut thinking. “He has several.”

“What are they?”

He relayed the routes he knew and she said she’d drive them. Kee called Jake again. His brother assured him he’d report that Day was unaccounted for. Kee went back to work with a cold knot in his stomach. He just felt something was wrong.

He was just finishing a round of immunizations on an eighteen-month-old when the phone rang. He snatched it out of his pocket right there in the exam room. It was Ava. A glance at the clock showed that it was three in the afternoon. Kee punched the receive button and lifted the phone to his ear.

“I found Day’s car,” Ava said.

He pressed his hand to his forehead. “Where?”

She told him.

“That’s the trailhead to the ruins,” said Kee.

“Hard to know which way he went from there,” she said. “Lots of trails through the cliff dwellings. Right?”

“My brother Ty has a dog. She’s an excellent tracker.”

There was a long pause.

“Ava?”

“Yeah, call him. Meet me here.”

“Should I call the police?” he asked.

“Up to you. Would Ty want the police here?” she asked matter-of-factly.

He pressed his lips together. Ava was just a visitor on their rez and yet she knew about Ty. She likely knew about their father, as well. “I’ll wait.”

“We need something of Day’s,” said Ava. “Something he recently wore or frequently wears, to help the dog find his scent.”

Kee swallowed at this and then raked a hand through his black hair. “I’ll stop at the trailer and find something. Meet you there at the trailhead in ten.”

* * *

AVA LEANED AGAINST her Malibu in the bright golden light of the crisp late afternoon. The blue sky and bird sounds belied her mood. Day had parked in a parking area before the lower ruins. His pale blue Subaru was covered with a fine coating of red dust, so it had been here awhile. It did not make sense that he’d be here all day when he was supposed to be at work.

She checked her service weapon and then returned it to her holster beneath her suede russet-colored jacket. She wore her badge under her shirt. The jacket would cover her service weapon from sight and she just felt more comfortable with the weapon near at hand.

Before Kee’s call, Ava had broken into the tribe’s clinic, which she knew was due to reopen this week. As she suspected, all their files were digitized and the computers password-protected. Kee’s and Hauser’s passwords had been easy to discern, but the clinic’s was a different story. So much for that plan, she thought. Shifting approaches, she’d placed a hidden camera directly over the administrator’s desk. Then she could remotely activate the camera, which had a six-hour battery. But then she had to wait for the clinic to open and for Betty Mills to log in before Ava could gain access to their system.

She wondered how long before their police discovered she was here and how long before her police force learned that she’d very definitely gone off the reservation. What she was doing could cost her her job. Her position gave her authority, respect and the autonomy she’d always longed for. She didn’t want to lose all that. But she was willing to chance it because the only thing more important than being a detective was finding Louisa and saving those missing girls.

She wondered if Day’s disappearance was related to this case. Suspicious things were happening and they all spun like a tornado around that clinic.

She hoped the worst thing that could’ve happened to Dr. Day was an accident that had left him lying along the trail somewhere with a twisted ankle and without a phone. But her gut told her that his disappearance could be related to her case.

Kidnapping a federal employee would be a terrible move and very brazen. Even if they thought he was investigating the clinic and closing in on the culprit, which he likely wasn’t, it would be better to...push him off a cliff.

The thought made Ava’s stomach churn.

Ava stared up at the mountain. Somewhere along that trail were several cliff dwellings. She’d never seen them but her sister, Sara, had told her about them. That also meant that there were cliffs.

Kee pulled up in his old blue pickup. He climbed down and hurried toward her, looking distracted as he greeted her by clasping both elbows and kissing her on the cheek. She was so rattled by the simple brushing of his mouth on her cheek that it wasn’t until Kee was already halfway to Day’s Subaru that she realized what he intended.

“Don’t touch that!” she called.

He paused and turned back. “Why?”

“Umm, what if something happened to him, then wouldn’t this be a crime scene?” That wasn’t well-done, she thought.

Kee backed up. “A crime scene?” He looked even more agitated as he looked in through the dusty windows from a safe distance. “Everything looks normal. He didn’t lock it.”

“You know this trail?” asked Ava, drawing him away from the vehicle.

“Part of it. It’s a quarter mile past the pasture to the lower ruins. I only hiked to the upper ruins once.” He rubbed his leg and frowned. “Couldn’t keep up with my kid brothers.”

How hard that must have been, always being the slowest, Ava thought. She touched his cheek with the palm of her hand.

“Well, you can keep up now.”

They shared a smile and she resisted the urge to step closer. His hands went to her waist and she moved away, not wanting him to discover her service weapon.

“There’s miles of trails up there,” he pointed to the ridgeline against the crystal blue sky. “And cliff dwellings, several. I suppose Richard could have tried to bike it.”

From the distance she heard a low rumble.

Kee turned toward the road. “That will be Ty. You know about him?”

She had run his record but she didn’t say that. Instead she offered a half-truth. “I mentioned meeting you to my sister. And...”

Kee flushed. “She naturally mentioned Ty and...my father, too?”

She nodded, wondering why he looked so ashamed. He hadn’t robbed a store. Mr. Perfect, she thought again. No missteps except the ones of his family reflecting badly on him. The law didn’t judge families; it judged individuals. She did the same. But she knew the pain caused by the poor decisions made by family members. Her mother had been a train wreck and Sara had gotten pregnant in high school. It happened.

“No one is perfect,” she said.

“I’m not like my dad.” He met her gaze and she thought the expression was not shame but anger. Was he angry at his father for being a con or at her sister for gossiping? “I’ve never broken a law in my life.”

She’d have to see about that.

“In fact, seeing my dad’s sentencing, well, it changed me. I’d always been cautious because of my leg. But that made me realize that your reputation, well, it’s more breakable than bones.”

She thought about how one wrong step and her own reputation would be beyond repair. She had a stellar law enforcement career, but even that wouldn’t survive the fallout of her rogue investigation if she was caught. But wasn’t Louisa’s life worth that?

The distinctive sound of a powerful engine brought all heads about.

“That’s his chopper,” said Kee.

“Harley?” she asked, raising her voice as the rumble became a roar.

“Indian,” he said. “Wait. That’s a new bike.”

Ty made an entrance. Up until today, Ava had only heard about him. The family black sheep, currently under investigation for his role in the abduction of Kacey Doka. They had statements from both his youngest brother, Colt, and Kacey, but neither could testify as they were in witness protection. The signed statements implicating Ty in Kacey Doka’s kidnapping from the clinic should be enough to convict him in tribal court. So why were they letting him run around free?

The roar grew louder and Ava had to shout to be heard.

“Isn’t he bringing the dog?” she asked.

Kee nodded and pointed. In rolled Ty Redhorse on a coffee-brown-and-cream Harley Davidson motorcycle laden with so much chrome she could see reflections of the sky and road and man all at once.

At first she thought he was riding double, and he was, after a fashion. The dog sat behind him, paws on his shoulders, with goggles on his massive head. As Ty pulled forward, she could see the shepherd sat in a bucket fixed to the rear seat and wore some sort of restraining belt.

The engine idled and Ty fixed his stare on them both. No smile, she realized, and he looked less than pleased to be here. Ty’s hair was shoulder length and cut blunt. He resembled Kee but for the cleft in his chin. He also sent all her cop senses into high alert. That challenge in his eyes as he met her gaze would have made her pull him over if she had her cruiser.

Badass didn’t cover it. And he wore black, of course.

Ava regarded the dog, with its lolling, pink tongue and—what appeared to be—a wide grin.

“Looks like a wolf,” said Ava.

“German shepherd mix,” said Kee.

“Mixed with wolf,” she said and Kee laughed.

The deep masculine rumble did crazy things to her insides.

“Ty thinks it’s funny because he’s riding with his bi...” Kee changed his mind about what he was going to say and motioned to Ava. “Shall we?”

Ty rocked the bike onto its kickstand. He greeted Kee with a bear hug that nearly lifted Kee off his feet. Ty was taller, broader and more intimidating.

Kee had a cell phone clipped to his clean, fitted jeans and he wore a blue button-up shirt with a turquoise bolo and brown lace-up shoes. Ty had a knife clipped to his leather belt and had a wallet connected to a belt loop by a stainless-steel chain. He wore black leather chaps over jeans, high moccasins with the distinctive toe-tab marking them as Apache footwear and a black muscle shirt that revealed a tribal tattoo circling each arm. What he didn’t wear was a helmet.

She watched Ty stroke his dog’s pointed ear, momentarily bending it flat before releasing her from the bucket-style pet transporter. The dog came forward to sniff Kee and then turned to Ava. She extended her hand, but the dog stopped short of her and dropped to all fours, lying alert before her.

She glanced first to Kee and then to Ty, who was narrowing his eyes at her.

Kee made introductions but Ty remained where he was. Her skin prickled a warning. She was made. She knew it.

Ty gave her a hard look.

“She a cop?” he asked Kee.

She narrowed her eyes, wondering if it was her appearance or his dog that had tipped him off.

“No,” said Kee. “A neighbor.”

“You packing?” he asked.

She nodded and showed her sidearm.

Ty’s eyes narrowed and Kee gaped.

“You can’t carry a weapon here,” said Kee.

Ty held her gaze a long while and Kee shifted restlessly. Finally, he broke the silence.

“We brought something of Richard’s for Hemi,” said Kee. “Let me get it.” He retrieved a pair of gray bike riding gloves.

Kee offered them to Ty and Ava noted that his younger brother was a few inches taller than Kee, but likely hadn’t been originally. The surgeries had taken three inches from his healthy leg.

Ty took the gloves and offered them to Hemi. The dog stood and was all business when she checked out the neoprene gloves and then lowered her head to the ground, making straight for the Subaru.

She jumped so that she stood on her back legs, with her front paws pressed to the door.

“Good girl,” said Ty, in a tone that seemed out of place from such a tough character. It gave her hope that he might be more than he appeared, because he appeared to be a gang member. But he had come at Kee’s request and that allowed her to continue to operate covertly.

Ty waved his dog toward the trail.

“Track,” he said.

Hemi put her nose to the ground and bounded away straight for the path that cut through the pasture toward the lower ruins.

Ty used Richard’s gloves to wipe away the paw prints from the Subaru. Ava’s eyes narrowed. Clearly, he suspected foul play and was removing evidence of Hemi’s contact with the vehicle. Was he just keeping his involvement secret or did he have something to hide?

They headed up the trail with Hemi darting ahead. She fell in beside Kee.

Kee asked Ty about Colt, how he was doing and if he was still talking. Ty paused to give him a long inscrutable look and then told Kee that he was but failed to mention that Colt was not on the rez. Kee didn’t seem to know that and Ty didn’t tell him.

Very odd, she thought.

“When you see him last?” asked Ty.

“The Saturday when you took him to Darabee Hospital.”

Almost two weeks ago. Kee had let his work erode his connection to family. He was right here on the rez but seemed to have little idea what was happening under his nose.

“Is he getting some help?” asked Kee.

“Yeah. Lots of help.”

Help relocating, thought Ava.

She had read in Ty’s file that he had driven a ’73 Plymouth Barracuda when he allegedly kidnapped Kacey Doka, the only girl to escape her captors. But the car was never found. No car, no physical evidence connecting Kacey Doka to Ty Redhorse. Just the statement by Kacey, who was no longer here to back it up with her physical presence during testimony in tribal court, and the tribe’s council had declined the FBI’s request for custody of Ty. That in itself was not unusual. Most tribes were exceedingly reluctant to allow outsiders to try their defendants. Considering the history between the Tonto Apache tribes and the federal government, few would blame them.

“What kind of a car does Ty drive?” Ava asked.

“I can’t keep up,” said Kee. “He changes cars like I change surgical gloves. I think he’s working on a ’67 Pontiac GTO.”

“Fast car. What color? Black?”

“No, gold.”

Gang colors, she thought. Yellow and black. Those were the colors worn by the Wolf Posse here.

So Ty was a gang member, and his brother Jake was a member of the tribal police force. Which side was Kee on?

When they reached the trailhead with the marker of regulations and the one of historical information, they paused. It delineated the rules in bullet points including no fires and no firearms.